Counting mechanism



Aug. 18, 1953 J. HANDLEY COUNTING MECHANISM Filed Oct. 11, 1952 Patented Aug. 18, 1953 COUNTING MECHANISM John Handley, Purley, England, assignor to The Union Totalisator Company, Limited, Glasgow, Scotland, a corporation of Great Britain Application October 11, 1952, Serial No. 314,291 In Great Britain July 12, 19-51 2 Claims. 1

This invention relates to improvements in counters or aggregators for totalisators, and is more particularly concerned with mechanism for transferring stepwise impulses from a digital denominational shaft of lower order to one of higher order.

In the construction described in the specification of the prior United States Patent No. 2,100,164 dated November 23, 1937, a digit transfer device includes a snail cam carried by a lower denominational shaft and engaged by a cam follower which rocks a spring-urged lever carrying a pin engageable with a toothed wheel feeding a higher denominational shaft. This pin is controlled by a control plate which, operated by way of mechanical linkage from the snail cam, presses the pin into an interdental space of the toothed wheel when the cam causes it to be move-:1 for transfer purposes. After transfer has been effected the linkage returns the control plate to its initial position. This arrangement suffers from the disadvantage that the locking and unlocking movement of the control plate is not sufiiciently rapid to free the transfer pin before the snail cam in its continued travel attempts to move it to the position for the next transfer.

It is an object of the construction of the present invention to overcome this disadvantage.

The figure of the accompanying drawing is a perspective view of a mechanism according to the invention.

Referring to the drawing, I denotes a shaft portion of a lower denominational spindle which revolves in the direction of the arrow, e. g., a unit spindle, 2 is a shaft carrying a ten-toothed sprocket wheel 3 which is a feed wheel for the higher denominational spindle, in the example quoted the tens spindle. Mounted on the shaft l are three cams 4, and 6, respectively. Of these, the cam 4 is a snail cam which actuates a transfer pawl pin I by way of a cam follower 8 and a spring-urged lever 9. The lever 9 is pivoted at It to a part I I of a frame to which is anchored a spring I2 acting on the lever 9.

Cam followers 13 and I4 tracking cams 5 and 6, respectively, are mounted on arms I5 and I5, respectively, of a Y-shaped member pivoted at IT to the frame. Connected to an extension 25 of the arm I5, I6 is one end of a link I8 of which the other end portion is widened to form a control plate I9. The plate I9 carries two detent-forming pins 20 and 2| which, in the periods between transfers, lock the wheel 3 against rotation. In these periods the plate I 9 is in its position furthest from the shaft I. The plate I5 is shown in the transfer position, that is, in the 2 position nearest to the shaft I. The plate I9 has two slots 22 and 23, one 22 of which surrounds but does not contact the shaft 2. The transfer pawl pin I fixed to a link 24 pivoted to the lever 9, runs in the slot 23 in the control plate I9.

The shaft I is shown at the position occupied when the digit displays zero, the follower 8 resting in the root of the cam 4. At this position the lever B has lifted the link 24 to its highest position and the pawl pin I is engaging the sprocket wheel 3.

As the shaft I commences to rotate, the cam 6 engaging the follower I4 rocks the member I5, I6 on the pivot II, so that the arm 25 moves the link I8 to the right. As the pawl pin 1 is controlled in the slot 23, it is carried clear of the teeth of the sprocket wheel 3, and at the same time the pins 20, 2| straddle a tooth of the wheel 3 and thus prevent the wheel 3 from moving when the pawl pin I is disengaged.

The cam 5 is so shaped that the follower I3 moves towards the shaft I as the follower I4 is moved away by the cam 6.

As the shaft I continues to turn, the follower 8 is steadily lifted by the cam 4, until the lever 9 has lowered the link 24 to bring the pawl pin 1 to the bottom of the slot 23.

At this point the cam 5 moves the follower I3 away from the shaft I, and the cam 6 allows the follower I4 to move towards the shaft I, so that the arm 25 moves the link I8 to the left, reengaging the pawl pin I with the wheel 3, and disengaging the pins 28, 2!, and then, as the shaft I completes its revolution, the follower 8 drops to the root of the cam 4, urged by the spring I2, and the sprocket wheel 3 is moved through one tenth of a revolution by the pawl pin I.

Thus, the control plate I9 forming part of the reciprocatory guide link is given a quick engage or transfer movement when the pin 1 comes into operative engagement with the sprocket wheel 3, then a dwell during which the pin I pulls the wheel 3 through one tooth distance, then a quick disengage or locking movement when the stop pins 28, 2| engage the sprocket wheel 3, then a dwell pending the next transfer, then a quick engage, and so on.

pin engageable with said toothed wheel and linked to said lever, a reciprocatory guide link controlling said pin, second cam means rotated by said shaft of lower order, a Y-shaped camfollower embracing and co-operating with said second cam means and connected to said guide link for reciprocating said guide link rapidly in opposite directions when said spring-urged lever is at predetermined positions near the beginning and the end of its operative travel, the conjoint efiect of the spring-urged lever and the reciproeatory guide link being to impart a stepwise rotation to said toothed wheel to rotate the shaft of higher order when the shaft of lower order has been partially rotated through a predetermined angle.

2. A mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the link incorporates a control plate formed with a E'ilide slot engaged by the pin, and formed with a further slot which surrounds the shaft of lower order.

JOHN HANDLEY.

No references cited. 

